Urbana food cooperative adopts product rating system

Common Ground Food Co-op in Urbana has introduced the HowGood rating system in its store so shoppers can see how food products — and the companies that market them — rate in terms of sustainability, social impact and environmental friendliness.

A roundup of business news:

URBANA — Common Ground Food Co-op in Urbana has introduced the HowGood rating system in its store so shoppers can see how food products — and the companies that market them — rate in terms of sustainability, social impact and environmental friendliness.

HowGood, an independent, third-party entity, researches products and rates them "good," "very good" or "great" or does not rate them at all if the products fall below the "good" standard.

The ratings are placed on store shelves next to the price tags.

"By integrating HowGood at Common Ground, we hope to better equip our shoppers with the knowledge and transparency they need to make informed purchases when voting with their dollars," said Common Ground's marketing manager Joy Rust in a release.

It also rates companies on labor practices, environmental records, tax records, sourcing policies and other factors.

Common Ground is one of two Illinois grocery stores to use the HowGood rating system.

The system is also used by grocery retailers in 13 other states.

Work underway on facility's first memory care residence

SAVOY — The first Willowbrook of Savoy memory care residence, under construction on Airport Road near U.S. 45 in Savoy, is expected to be operational by the end of the year, according to a release from Willowbrook Management Inc. of Effingham.

The first residence will have 12 private suites with private bathrooms. Services will include licensed and certified staffing 24 hours a day, medication management, three meals a day plus housekeeping, laundry and beauty/barber services.

Willowbrook, which already has similar facilities in Effingham, specializes in providing assisted-living services for people with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

The company eventually plans to have three Willowbrook residences on the Savoy site, providing services for 36 residents.

First BancTrust's stock begins trading on OTCQX

PARIS — First BancTrust Corp.'s stock began trading this week on the OTCQX marketplace.

The Paris-based company is the holding company for First Bank & Trust, which has offices in Paris, Champaign, Savoy, Rantoul, Marshall and Martinsville. The bank — commonly known as First Bank — had total assets of $412 million as of March 31.

First BancTrust was among eight banking companies that began trading on OTCQX under a streamlined qualification process for U.S. community and regional banks. First BancTrust trades under the symbol FIRT.